


it doesnt happen like this every single time

by catnurse



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Stuttering Trevor Garbo, early 2000s usernames, im projecting babey......., title from elementary school dropout by yucky duster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 08:59:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19849846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catnurse/pseuds/catnurse
Summary: Trevor has a nightmare. Count on Nat Vancey to save the day.





	it doesnt happen like this every single time

**Author's Note:**

> SOOO... THE VARNNIAS
> 
> i love this game so much more than ANYTHING and i esp liked trevor nat and trencil. so i wanted to write with nat :)
> 
> i have a headcanon that since theyre the same age they became friends after they left the habitat. i assume the game takes place at around 1995 so this takes place at around 1999-2000 so theyre around 15-16. they are also both trans
> 
> thats all plz enjoy :DDDD

Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: nat  
Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: NAT  
Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: NATALIE VANCEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her flip-phone buzzes against her sidetable, and, pressing her pillow over her ears, Nat groans. 

Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: NAT LISTEN ITS LIKE 4 IN TH MORNING  
Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: BUT I NEED U  
Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: ITS IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She almost wishes she never befriended Trevor after their time at the Habitat. 

She's lying -- time spent there is something people can't easily find relatable, and she knows that she could never find a friend better than Trevor. 

That night, when everybody left the Habitat, all at once, Nat had a heavy feeling over her heart. Like when a heavy dog sits on your chest, but not nearly as enjoyable and nice. So maybe that wasn't the right phrase. 

It was more like the feeling you get when you're leaving from vacation and you can't help but worry if you forgot something in your hotel room. Except they were leaving that flower dude, alone. Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if they stayed, just one more day. What that "big event" was. There was little to no news coverage -- sometimes, she'd see a random article online, saying something like _"Rehab Facility Unexpectedly Closes Down,"_ or along those lines, and when the florist's kid comes around once in a while, she gets the feeling she shouldn't ask about it.

But, everything turned out okay. At the time, she almost thought she knew it wouldn't. Tightly, she grasped her father's long, boney hands as they neared those huge metal doors, with Trevor trailing behind them. His nervous energy rolled off of him like a waterfall, rushing over Nat, and she felt like she should have been knocked over. To her surprise, Trencil turned around to talk to the kid, and his anxiety increased tenfold. (She could somehow sense it. Must come with the Vampire Package Deal.)

"Do you know the way home?" His deep, quiet voice seemed so loud in the entrance of the Habitat. Around them, she could see some people giving goodbyes, writing phone numbers on wrists and promising to contact each other when they get out of the place they didn't quite call home. Personally, Nat didn't want to see any of these people ever again. Not because she thought they were horrible people, but because it was just... too much. Seeing Putunia and Millie now and again wouldn't be so bad, though. 

But Trevor?

He looked around, for a second; confirming if the words were meant for him. Slowly, he met Trencil's eyes, and then looked down at Nat. "Um," Trevor's eyes flicked back to her father's, and his confidence returned to his body. She could see it, like filling a bottle with sparkling water. "Of course I do! My werewolf senses are impeccable and indisputable. I can smell my home from a mile away!"

When Trevor said "home," his demeanour shifted slightly. His eyes looked more guarded, his smug grin losing grip by the second as Trencil seemed to analyze him as well. She was hit with the reality that, while her and her father have made up, other residents may have not had the best family to go home to, especially since they were there in the first place. Trevor might've been one of those people. 

"Are you positive, Trevor?" Trencil's fangs caught on his lips when he spoke, "Although you were, ahem, immeasurably disrespectful to myself and my daughter..." Since saying that word, Trevor's eyes didn't move from a rock on the ground that was almost the colour of Nat's greying skin. "I'm available to take you home. I was able to get my car keys back from that blubbering fool that we once called Doctor Habit."

To say it gently, their car was shit, and still was shit, since they still owned the clunker. Her father hadn't purchased a new vehicle since 1947, and it was starting to become a problem. He would always say, _"I remember when cars were created, Nat, so this is new to me."_ But it looked far from new -- the rust ran along around the tires and the rims of the doors, and the leather seats seemed to turn into boiling lava during the summer, and that _hurt_ to sit on. 

But really, since that final day, sitting in the back seat of her father's godawful car, driving back home until daylight broke free and waking up against Trevor's side, Nat kind of felt obligated to stay with him. Not because of their shared experience, nor because she thought he was too lame to have any other friends (he's pretty lame, but that's not the point) but because she brought him comfort that was rare to find in anybody else. She knew other people, but if she had to be honest, she'd choose the kid who roleplays as a wolf at lunch break over the kids who talk about him behind his back any day. 

Her phone buzzed 6 more times, and she takes back everything she said.

Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: NAT SRSLY  
nat_van82: trev r u fr  
nat_van82: we have skool tmrw u kno that rite

Typing like that was a drag, but _damn_ if it didn't make her look cool.

Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: YES.  
Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW RIGHT HERE!!!!  
nat_van82: w/e  
nat_van82: whats going on

Trevor takes a long time to respond -- which is weird, because sometimes, it almost feels like he already had a message typed out and he's eagerly waiting to send it. Nat, however, can take half an hour just to say "Okay." She admits it's a bad habit of hers. 

Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: it appears i had a nightmare  
Xxsabastian_the_wolfxX: SO IM A LITTLE SPOOKED AND I DIDNT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!!!!  
nat_van82: im ringing u rn

She knew Trevor's nightmares were bad since the Habitat. He never talked about them, just came up to her at school some days, forgetting to sport his lopsided smile, and she'd try and be extra gentle with him, with none of her playful teasing. Eventually, though, he started calling her. She was the only person he had, and honestly, he was her one real friend. 

The tone rang twice before Trevor picked up, and Nat could already hear his shaking breath, in and out. "Uh... Hey, Nat," There was a pause, "Sorry."

"No worries, dude. What's up?" She always knew, but asked anyway. Trevor never really liked to talk about his feelings. One time, late at night, during a sleepover, he said if his dad caught him crying, he'd get mad. Nat could tell Trevor was currently trying not to. 

Trevor's dad is the main cause of his anxiety. He wants him to keep his hair long, and wear different clothes, because that's what he was "supposed to do." Sometimes, his father would send him to school in a skirt, and he'd beeline to the bathroom and change into the raggy jeans he kept in his backpack. Trencil was more understanding and supportive with Nat, and she wishes Trevor's dad could have been the same. 

"Um, I, uh..." Despite being an awkward kid, when he stumbled over his words, it meant he was either extremely excited or extremely upset. When he talks about conspiracy theories, or vampires or werewolves -- especially now that he has total confirmation that vampires are real, despite him insisting that he never needed proof -- his stutter overtakes his every word. Honestly, Nat finds it a bit cute. 

But right now, he's just scared, and Nat, not letting it show too much, is worried out of her mind. He's gripping at his sheets, and it carries into the receiver. "Ruh-ri-right before I, I, I wh-went to bed, I, um, was thuh-th-thin-think-- ugh." Assuring him to take his time, he took a deep breath, and continued. "I was just think-thi-thinking, what happened to everybody? Like, the, um, Habi-habi-biticians? Obviously, my vuh-vah-vampire theory wasn't right -- about Habit, anyway," At that, Nat puffed out a laugh, "So, I just, want them to be safe. Wuh-want to know if they get the same fee-feeling as I do. As we do."

Sitting up on her bed, with her phone still to her ear as Trevor went on, she shoves her slippers on and drapes a sweater over her shoulders, not bothering to put it on properly. Because it looks cool, Trevor told her that once. And also, shes in a bit of a rush.

"I'll be over in like, 10 minutes. I'll bring snacks. Let's play Smash. See you soon." As she's speaking, Trevor sputters out apologies, and _you don't have to_ s, and _stay safe,_ as if she couldn't see as clear at night as she can during the day.

Even at four in the morning, Trencil sits on his rocking chair, and for a moment, Nat forgets that older vampires don't really need sleep. Looking up at the creaking sound of the stairs, he closes his book. Dust puffs up around the pages. The only books they have in their house are from the 1800s -- and her father wonders why she isn't interesting in reading anything from their bookshelf. 

(She has a secret stash of manga in her room.)

"Natalie, what are you up to?" His low drawl almost makes Nat want to clamber into her bed all over again. He has that effect on people -- Trevor said that, when he attempted to help Trencil with gardening, he nearly fell asleep in the soil just listening to Nat's dad talk about orchids and begonias. 

Not bothering to stop and look at her father while she talked, Nat padded into the kitchen, shoving Cosmic Brownies and mini cinnamon buns into her pockets. "I'm heading over to Trevor's. You know how he is." She feigned annoyance. 

In Nat's peripheral, she saw her father nod, because he did, in fact, know how he is. 

Oddly, being as protective as he is, Trencil didn't really mind if his daughter left at night, as long as she went to school in the morning. He always called her a "capable young vampire" who can fend for herself, but really, all she ever did was head over to Trevor's, who was literally across the street. Leave it to dad for being dramatic. 

As she shuffles to the door, with a curt "see you soon" from her father, she clutches onto her cellphone, quickly typing out a message. Her long nails get in the way. 

nat_van82: omw

Across the street, a room flashes with lights; the faint tune of the Super Smash Bros menu song drifts along the dark street through the open window, and Nat smiles.

Nat will always smile for Trevor.


End file.
